Jon Stolpe
Author Archives: Jon Stolpe

Blog Spotlight: ChristLink (Dad's New Blog)

I couldn’t help but pass along this new blog spotlight along. My dad just started his own blog, and I know it’s one that I will be checking regularly. I have always been blown away by what my dad has to say (Okay, maybe it’s been since college started that I’ve actually listened to him). I hope you also will enjoy what he writes. Let me know what you think.

Until the next post…

Steps in Sharing Your Faith 4 of 6

I took a day off for Christmas, but I’m back now. So what’s the next step in sharing your faith?

Arouse Interest by Life

Here’s the verse:
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives. I Peter 3:1

At first glance, this first my seem a bit sexist; however, I think the message here is not just for wives. We need to be people of action when it comes to sharing our faith. This reminds me of a quote that I’ve heard a few times, “Preach the word at all times, and if necessary use words.” This quote fits in with what this verse says. I can gain a much better platform for verbally sharing my faith when I live it out through my day to day actions.

One of the other things that this verse seems to point out is that marriage by a follower of Christ to a non-believer can be tough. While it is not recommended (do not be yoked together with unbelievers – 2 Corinthians 6:14), this verse seems to give a message of hope to those who find themselves in a marriage that lacks this common compass point. God can use spouses who are believers to impact the lives of their non-believing partners.

Until the next post, live it out loud through your actions…

Steps in Sharing Your Faith 3 of 6

Okay, I don’t know about you, but this verse blogging thing is actually helping me to commit these verses to memory. I’ve got the first two verses down.

To review, here are the first three step in sharing your faith:
1. Pray (Romans 10:1)
2. Depend on the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 2:4,5)
3. Associate with People (I Corinthians 9:22,23)

22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. I Corinthians 9:22,23

I cannot share my faith if I stay in a cave and pray and depend on the Holy Spirit. I need to get out and rub shoulders with people who are far from God. In my opinion, this requires an appropriate balance. While I need to be doing things that put me in touch with people who don’t know God, I also need to be hanging around with strong followers of Christ. These are people who will hold me accountable and who will make sure I stay on the “straight and narrow.” I have struggled with this balance over the years. Honestly, I lean to the accountability group side of the balance beam. I have been challenged more recently to make sure I’m hanging with non-believers as well. Here are some suggestions for doing that:

1. Work – what can I say, I work in an industry that can sometimes be brutal. The people I work with need to find Christ.
2. Kids’ Activities – this is a great place to find common ground with other parents who are cheering on their own children. Recently, we have been enjoying Isaac’s basketball games which provides a great place to associate with people.
3. Gym – Another great location for associating with people. I see the same people day after day, week after week. As time goes on, I am able to talk more with many of my fellow gym rats.
4. Neighborhood – Read Making Room For Life by Randy Frazee for more info on this one.
5. Poker Table – This has been a new one for me. I honestly struggle with how this fits into the equation, but the more often I play (which isn’t very often), I’m convinced that God can use conversations around the poker table for drawing people closer to Him.

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts and ideas on this one.

Until the next post, have a Merry Christmas…

Steps in Sharing Your Faith 2 of 6

Now that I’ve got the first verse/step down, it’s time to move onto step/verse number 2. The second step in sharing your faith is to depend on the Holy Spirit. Here’s the verse:

4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. I Corinthians 2:4,5

I like to be in control. I like to know that I am having an impact. I like to see people’s lives being changed. I want to be a change agent. I, I, I, me, me, me. This verse is a great reminder that I (Jon Stolpe) can’t do it. I alone cannot change people’s lives. I must depend on God to do this. It’s a good thing that I can depend on Him, because I’m great at screwing up. I’d like to say that my words and actions are always perfect, but they’re not. This is why I’m thankful that God is in control, and I can depend on the Holy Spirit to change the lives of those around me and to continue to change my life.

This step is a natural follow-up to the first step that I posted about a day ago (Pray). It seems to make sense that these two things would be the first steps to sharing my faith.

Until the next post, I’ll be working on I Corinthians 2:4,5…

Adoption Milestone

I have been waiting patiently to pass along this most exciting news about the adoption that my brother and sister-in-law (David and Rachel) have been pursuing. They received their referral just a week or so ago for a little girl from China. Her name will be Elizabeth Rose Stolpe when she is officially adopted. She will turn one on December 27, 2007. David and Rachel are starting to plan their trip to China for March or April. Please pray that everything will fall into place. For more information go to their blog. God is good!

Until the next post…

At Home Baptism

We had a very cool experience at our house last night. I was almost home from work when I received a call from Leanne about getting the hot tub ready for a baptism. Yesterday afternoon, a young lady stopped by our church office needing to talk with one of our pastors. Thankfully, Matt Silver, our youth pastor, was there. From what I gather, he spoke with this young lady for a little while. Matt spoke with her about the need to believe, repent, and be baptized (John 3:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 3:23, 10:9; 1 John 1:9). By the end of the conversation, she wanted to get baptized. That’s where our house comes in. Our current church building doesn’t have a baptistry that is set up all the time, so it takes some creativity on occasions like this. So in the dark, cold, rainy weather, this young woman was baptized right in our back yard. It was amazing!

We talked together for a short time afterwards, and we even shared in communion. I really felt like I was part of the early Acts church:

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47

Until the next post…

Steps in Sharing Your Faith 1 of 6

I’ve been working with a gentlemen at my church to memorize a group of 24 verses that have to do with the topic of evangelism. One method that may help me memorize them is sharing them on my blog, so I’m hoping to do this over a series of posts which will give the verse along with a little comment or introspection on each verse. (I previously memorized 24 verses related to The Word, and I’ve found that the discipline of scripture memory is a worth while endeavor. Having said this, I could do a much better job of this. I’ve been sitting on these next verses for some time.) At any rate, here goes…

1st Step in Sharing Your Faith – Pray

“Brother and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” Romans 10:1

This verse comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. It’s a reminder that prayer is the foundation for being able to share our faith. I should be praying that God would give me a heart for the lost, that God would use me to influence others for Him, and that God would soften the hearts of those I come into contact with who are far from Him. The Bible provides other verses which charge us to pray.

“Pray continually.” I Thessalonians 5:17

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18

More than anything these verses remind me that I alone cannot change anyone. They also remind me that I need to be in a position of humility before God.

Until the next post, try prayer; it works…

Salvation Army Foundation

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I learned some interesting details about my family. My great grandfather, Grandpa Erikson, who I never met, has an interesting connection with the Salvation Army. The retelling of this story by my dad was an eye opener for me. I’m sure I’ve been told details of this story before, but it was really neat to hear my dad tell the story to my son Isaac after we had passed one of the Salvation Army holiday donation collectors during our visit to the mall. Well, here’s the story as best I can remember…

Apparently, my great grandfather was quite a wild young man. He traveled by boat from Sweden and some how ended up in California. From what I understand, he got into trouble with the law and had quite a taste for alcohol. Somehow, he showed up one Sunday morning at the Salvation Army church looking to cause problems in his drunken stupor. While he was at the service, he never had the chance to make any trouble as he was too plastered. There happened to be a young lady at the service who had pity on my great grandfather. Eventually, she married him and he cleaned up his life and committed his life to Christ. As time went on, she had a son. When he was six (or so), they both died of some sort of illness. The story doesn’t end here.

Grandpa Erikson later met another lady who he married. They had a daughter who became my grandmother. When my dad was younger, Grandpa Erikson passed away, and Grandma Erikson moved in with this family. For several years, Grandma Erikson would take my dad and my Aunt Elaine to downtown Oakland to put money in one of the red Salvation Army pots. They would take the bus downtown and put the money that she had set aside for this purpose. She told my dad that this was a way to show her gratitude for Grandpa Erikson’s first wife who had been so instrumental in introducing him to Christ. As Grandma Erikson grew older and she couldn’t make the bus trip any longer, she would send my dad by himself downtown with her money to deposit in the Salvation Army’s donation pot. This became an annual tradition.

Since then, my dad has made a point every year to empty his pockets of any loose change into a Salvation Army pot. Dad has also been involved with the Salvation Army on and off throughout his career. A big reason for this is that he wants to continue the tradition by remembering the role that the Salvation Army has had it setting a Christian foundation for his family.

I’m sure that Dad told this story because he’s great at telling stories; however, I’m know that the real reason was to pass along this tradition to my son and me. I am honored.

Until the next post, take a second look when you hear that hand bell ringing…
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